Vision Without Planning = Hallucination

In a previous post, I talked about the power of a dream and the difference between a dream and a fantasy. So… what next? Simple. Bringing your dream alive through planning. Yes good old fashioned planning. So, what am I talking about? You can take this to the bank…

When you are devising your plan to reach your dream, there are many things that need to be considered, besides the dream itself!

Let’s take a change in career as your dream. Perhaps it’s owning your own business, going into music, coaching, consulting or picking up a new skill/craft. What are some of the other things to consider besides the dream itself? Timing, Support and making a living.

I have been down this path through personal experience and was lucky enough to survive my mistakes. Sadly, I have witnessed others fail to reach their dream, because they didn’t consider timing, support and making a living.

Timing
It is great that you have a dream and are anxious to “just do it”. However, this doesn’t mean dropping whatever you are doing to just jump in and hope the stars are aligned with Jupiter or Mercury. If you want to give yourself the best chance of living your dream, you must look at timing. When is it the best time to make a push towards achieving your dream? Considerations? 1) Finances, 2) Obligations to work, 3) Obligations to Family, 4) Age.

Support
In a perfect world (let me know if you find it so I can move there), your family and friends would be totally supportive of your dream. Reality? Not likely. At least not all the time. So what do you do? The only ones that you really need to listen to are your significant other and/or your kids. Now – some of you may have a naysayer at your side. You are going to have to understand that you can move forward without thier support, but you need to be prepared for a really tough haul. You also should be asking yourself if there is some truth behind thier reservations. If you are in a relationship, you need to ask yourself if you are being selfish in the pursuit of your dream. I know – Not a popular concept or idea, but you need to ask yourself the question. The answer you come up with is entirely up to you.

Finances
To achieve your dream will require some careful financial planning. In many cases, pursuing a dream will require you to make an investment in your dream, or perhaps cause you to consider leaving your “day” job. Two rules here – 1) NEVER invest money that you don’t have, unless you have a solid (rock solid!!) proven record at what you are about to do. 2) NEVER quit your day job, until you have enough clients/money to know that you can feed your family. Tough? You bet. Worth it? Absolutely.

All the best,
All the time,
JT

FYI – I don’t know for sure, but I believe the quote in the title can be attributed to Noel Tichy.